- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
RBGPF | -0.46% | 60.52 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.04% | 24.58 | $ | |
AZN | -0.21% | 76.71 | $ | |
SCS | -0.47% | 12.89 | $ | |
NGG | 0.18% | 65.6 | $ | |
GSK | -1.07% | 38.22 | $ | |
BTI | -0.09% | 35.17 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.1% | 24.815 | $ | |
RIO | -4.66% | 66.52 | $ | |
RELX | 0.8% | 46.41 | $ | |
BP | -3.59% | 31.99 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
BCC | 0.39% | 141.82 | $ | |
JRI | 0.11% | 13.195 | $ | |
BCE | -0.6% | 33.33 | $ | |
VOD | -0.42% | 9.649 | $ |
China's November imports, exports plunge due to Covid rules
China's imports and exports plunged in November to levels not seen since early 2020, official figures showed Wednesday, as severe Covid restrictions hit the economy hard.
The last major economy still wedded to a zero-tolerance virus policy, Beijing's snap lockdowns, travel curbs and mass testing have stifled business activity, disrupted supply chains and dampened consumption.
Imports in November fell 10.6 percent year-on-year, the biggest drop since May 2020, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Meanwhile, exports fell 8.7 percent over the same period -- the steepest decline since February 2020, when the country was mired in the early stages of the pandemic.
"Weakening domestic and foreign demand, Covid disruptions and a rising comparison base lead to a perfect but well-expected storm to China's exports and imports," Bruce Pang, chief economist at Jones Lang LaSalle, told Bloomberg News.
The figures are the latest in a string of gloomy economic indicators as the world's number two economy charts a faltering path out of zero-Covid.
Official data last week showed China's factory activity shrank for a second straight month in November, as large swathes of the country were hit by lockdowns and transport disruptions.
The Purchasing Managers' Index -- a key gauge of manufacturing -- fell to 48.0 from 49.2 the month prior, well below the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
"In November, the pandemic had a negative impact on the production and operation of some enterprises, production somewhat slowed, and product order volumes decreased," the bureau's senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.
Some suppliers had complained of transport and logistics problems, while demand from both the domestic and overseas markets fell, he added.
- 'Bumpy reopening' -
China's ruling Communist Party has signalled a shift in Covid messaging since the country's largest protests in decades took aim last week at lockdowns and other measures.
Local authorities have begun easing testing requirements and other restrictions, but travel between provinces remains complicated and health measures continue to vary from place to place.
"The zero-Covid policy has been loosened, but mobility has not recovered much on the national level," said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management.
"I expect exports will stay weak in the next few months as China goes through a bumpy reopening process," he added.
"As global demand weakens in 2023, China will have to rely more on domestic demand."
Chinese leaders have set an annual economic growth target of about 5.5 percent, but many observers think the country will struggle to hit it, despite announcing a better-than-expected 3.9 percent expansion in the third quarter.
D.Goldberg--CPN